Bandit ~ Yannick Ngakoue ~ MaryLand Terrapins ~ 6020/252

Regarding Bandits

Throughout the FootBall World, Defenses are undergoing Transformational, Revolutionary Change. Old Roles are getting dramatically transformed, and virtually every Front 7 ~ or Front 6!! ~ Defensive Job Description is transitioning into an Hybrid Role where the Defender is asked to excel in multiple Roles and in multiple Fronts.

For that reason, and in order to offer NomenClature that speaks not to archaic, obsolete "Positions", but rather to Skill Sets that accurately reflect the dynamic Changes of the 21st Century Game and the Roles they have spawned, I have undertaken to craft Terminology that is designed to break Skill Sets down as they really are.

Defensive Coordinators have, since Time Immemorial, employed highly creative terminology in devising Defenses and in designating Assignments. In that Spirit, I have admittedly indulged myself considerably in devising the following NomenClature. It is undeniably colorful, but I like to think that there's an underlying Logic, as well:

Bandits ~ This is my term, derived from Defensive Schemes, for Players with the WingSpan for the Defensive Line yet who, unlike Dragons, lack the Size to play there regularly, because they can't be expected to Anchor against the Run.

They are thus the right Size though a bit tall to play MidFielder and can generally do so, but I believe are optimally employed as Wild Cards, deployed all over the Formation from Snap to Snap, usually in the murky, shifty region between the Defensive Line and the MidFielders, usually standing up, and generally giving no clue as to their Intentions.

I believe that the Bandit, whatever he's called in a given Formation, stands at the very EpiCenter of the disruptive Changes that Defensive Formations are undergoing today. Their unique combination of Size & Speed offers precisely that Wild Card Variable that I believe is potentially priceless for Defenses to compete and indeed to excel in the incessantly and rapidly evolving Strategic LandScape of the 21st Century. The Prototype would be around 6030/245 or so, I'd say.

As the ultimate Defensive Hybrid, Bandits could quite conceivably Rush the Passer, Blitz the Run, or Drop into Coverage on any given play, and from virtually any alignment on the Line or in the BackField. They won't anchor against the Run very effectively, they won't overwhelm with Power in their Pass Rush, and they're not built to Turn & Burn with WideOuts in Coverage, but they are in fact optimally built to conceivably compete effectively in all three Facets of the Game.

Of course, where and how any given Coach chooses to deploy his Players is his Business. Players that I characterize as Bandits may often or even routinely line up anywhere, on any given Down. My only purpose is simply to identify what I perceive as Skill Sets, to distinguish types, if you will, and perhaps create a universal Point of Reference.

When evaluating Bandits, this is how I break down the Attributes to which I pay most particular attention:

Power: Above all: Core Power. Torso Power is important, but Core Power, from the Knees to the Ribs, is absolutely crucial. All the upper body strength in the world still fails if you can't dig in your heels. But Core Power enables a Defensive Lineman to project Power in the Passing Game and to reject Power in the Running Game.

Agility: Launch Velocity, Acceleration, and above all: Fluidity or Core Agility. Core Agility is even more essential to sustained good Health ~ and to sustained good FootBall ~ than Core Power. The ability to react with Serpentine smoothness is a tremendous asset in all Aspects of the Game, and certainly in the Hand to Hand Combat that characterizes Trench Warfare. All the Power in the World goes only so far if you're stiff and lumbering out there.

Intangibles:Processing Speed and Motor. Processing Speed or Diagnostic Velocity is about how quickly and effectively one Reads & Reacts to how the Rapidly Roiling Tactical LandScape effects Blocking Schemes, and Motor is about Endurance and Drive: How much Work has been put into Conditioning, and how it manifests itself.

Power: Dragons are by definition Hybrids, but Ngakoue is one of those Prospects who're clearly best suited for one Role or another, his being MidFielder in an Odd Front. Indeed, another Inch shorter and I would've tagged'm as a full time MidFielder. I mention this because I'd grade his Power as just Marginal as an End in an Even Front, wrestling in the Trenches. But as a MidFielder in an Odd Front ~ or as a roving, roaming Bandit ~ he's Competitive.

Combat Skills: Mediocre, but with some Potential. Excellent Paw Persistence, but mediocre Mechanics and a mediocre WingSpan. If he's able to develop the Mechanics, though, he should be competitive, perhaps adept.

Intangibles: Competitive. A tremendous Motor, but marginal Processing Speed and Field Vision.

Run Defense: Moderate, though with Potential. I don't believe that he's going to be very stout at The Point of Attack until he develops better Combat Skills, and even so his WingSpan will be a Liabilty. His Speed and Fluidity, however, translate to terrific Potential in Pursuit and as a Penetrator, if he can develop his Combat Skills and Field Vision.

Pass Coverage: He's essentially starting from Scratch as a Pass Defender, but Fluidity and Speed speak to intriguing Potential. He'll be facing a steep Learning Curve, though, and it'll be vital that he develops his Field Vision.

Pass Rush: There is definite Potential, here, as Ngakoue has the explosive Launch Velocity to threaten Gaps and Edges and the Fluidity to exploit any Advantage. But of course his mediocre Power and Combat Skills limit'm.​

Yannick Ngakoue Prospectus

Heh. If I were to grade Yannick Ngakoue ~ In GAH quay, if ESPN has it right ~ based on'is Combine Numbers ~ and I pay very close attention, indeed, to the Short Shuttle, 3 Cone, Vertical and 10 Yard Split ~ I'd give'm a UFA Grade!!

But sometimes that Shit simply doesn't translate.

And that is well, for the rest of Ngakoue's Game, as I see it, isn't anything to hang his hat on.

However, while I characterize'm a Dragon, he is clearly best suited to play not Defensive End as he did in College, but MidFielder and Bandit on most Snaps, and if he is deployed thus by a wise Coaching Crew ~ allowing him to play in Space ~ his Strengths ~ Speed & Fluidity ~ will be played to his Team's best Advantage.

He has intriguing Potential: His Speed & Fluidity render'm a Threat both as a Pass Rusher and as a Run Defender.

He has a lot of Work to do, though.

His Combat Skills need a lot of Work, and his Field Vision has a long way to go.

That's a lot of Time & Training for him and his Team, and no Certainty of its meeting Success. High Risk & High Reward!!

Grateful Thanks, as always, for the crucial Work done by the folks at Draft BreakDown!!​​​​​​​​​​

Yank Rank: Warrior ~ Par Value​

Market Value

#69

Yankee Grade

2nd/3rd Round

Please do Note: This and all Evaluations issued by this Site are produced by a ludicrously unqualified Amateur, privy to not even the tiniest fraction of Coach's Tape, Scouting Expertise, Face to Face Interviewing, Experience, or Inside Information enjoyed by the Professionals. As such, anything put forth is certainly misinformed, euphonious, derivative Tripe, and should be rejected out'f hand and indeed shunned by all men and women of Good Will!! I'm trying to discern Power, Agility, Combat Skills, and far more abstract, esoteric Concepts such as Processing Speed and Motor, and I'm trying to do so based almost entirely on a fascinating fusion of Tape, Combine Numbers, and Pro Days, while trying to attenuate my findings based on Allowances for Competition Level, Scheme, Concept, Context, and, above all: Trajectory!!

None of this is even remotely a Complaint, mind you, but rather a Warning!! Caveat Emptor!!